Sorry for my Absence

I know I haven't posted in days...I'll try to work on that. School has been very busy right now and I've been all sorts of stressed out. I pick classes tonight, so I don't plan on reviewing Parenthood like I normally do. I may be multitasking and reading and/or writing a paper at the same time. I may post a short snapshot review of it tomorrow afternoon sometime, but don't plan on it. Feel free to comment here with what you thought about the episode.

As for good news, I do plan on writing some more feature-esque posts about Veronica Mars and HIMYM (my possible scenario about the mom) in the near future so keep coming back!

What have my readers been up to lately?

Ingrid Michaelson and Mat Kearney Guest Post

I recently wrote a guest post for Live Well, For Less, an awesome blog with tips about how to save money. It was about my recent concert experience where I saw Mat Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson at the Electric Factory. I first came across their music on the TV shows Grey's Anatomy (which I used to love--until it got weird and they killed off my favorite character). Anyway, here's an excerpt from the review:

"I first heard both Mat Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson on the TV show Grey’s Anatomy, and were both on one of the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack  CDs (I get a lot of my music from television and movie soundtracks—it’s a great way to get introduced to new music). Kearney even released a music video of “Breath In and Breath out” featuring scenes from Grey’s Anatomy that was released on Itunes for free.  I became, I would say, addicted to Michaelson, however, after listening to “You and I” several times with my roommates, and singing along. When I learned about her playing a concert in Philadelphia—I just knew we had to go. "



Go check out the rest of the article here: Ingrid Michaelson and Mat Kearney Rock the Electric Factory

Lost Review of “Ab Aeterno”

By Paula Perry

OK Lost FANatics, Richard’s entire story is revealed in this episode, Ab Aeterno, in Latin means “Since the Beginning of time”. The Oceanic survivors went through years of tragedy and time travel to find out who the Smoke Monster is. Within several days of Richard or “Ricardo”, crashing on the island he meets Man in Black) MIB, Smokey and Jacob, the main guys running the island.

Richard crashed on the island in 1867 and now it is 2007, so he has been island bound for 140 years. He never ages and is always around, no matter what year it is. We don’t know hardly anything about him and then boom a whole show about him. I see now why he is ready to die, he lived a lie his whole life. (I liked the 1800 Richard character a lot. He was so honest, loving, and devoted, and that accent!)

It all started when his wife, Isabella is very sick and dying back in the 1800’s. He rides out for a doctor, a half-day’s journey. When Richard finally arrives riding all night through the rain, the Doc has a very bad bedside manner. They get into it, Richard only wanting to save his wife. Richard ends up pushing him away and accidently kills the Doc.

Now Richard is in prison ready to be killed for his sin of murder. A priest comes to visit Richard to absolve him of his transgression. As Richard prays for forgiveness of killing a man, the priest is like “oh no, you can’t be forgiven for the sin of murder, you must die”. Pretty harsh I thought, no slack at all.

Then in walks his savior, or is he, Mr. Whitfield. Richard wants to go to the New World, the good ol’ US of A. He is checked out like a piece of meat and since he can also speak English, he is reprieved from his death sentence and going aboard the Black Rock for the New World. He says Ricardo is now the property of one Magnus Hanso, the owner/captain of the Black Rock. Ricardo is bought by Mr. Whitfield from the priest. Wonder what souls went for back then?

So now they are traveling through some pretty heavy storms and CRASH they are on the island. Ricardo or Richard is chained below. Whitfield goes below and starts killing other prisoners that are chained. Ricardo is the last prisoner left, he screams, “Why are you doing this”? He says because eventually you will come after me to kill me. Smokey enters with his usual “whispery” entrance and kills everyone but Richard. Why is he spared?

Isabella, his dead wife, shows up. She is there to save Ricardo from Smokey or as she calls it the “Devil”. Richard tells her to run, she doesn’t want to leave him, but eventually runs up the stairs and the noises of Smokey getting lunch is heard. Poor Ricardo lost her again, or was that really Isabella?

The Man in Black (MIB) comes bearing a gift of water for Ricardo and wants to be his friend. (Something is always wanted in return.) The MIB tells Richard “HE” probably has her, Isabella. MIB refers to HIM as the devil. Ricardo asks if he is in hell. MIB says he has been there a very long time. MIB makes Richard promise he will help him before he takes the chains off. Richard, without many choices, agrees.

So now Richard is free, or is he? MIB gives instruction to Richard, just as Dogen did to Sayid, to kill Jacob with this special dagger. He even says don’t let him speak to you first, just as Dogen said. MIB tells Richard Jacob is the black smoke. So I have been thinking MIB is the smoke monster, so is it Jacob or what? I always perceived Jacob as the “good” and MIB as “evil”. Maybe it is the other way around.
MIB tells Richard the only way to get his wife back is to kill the smoke monster, knowing he will do anything for his Isabella. Ricardo says murder is wrong. MIB replies we can argue all day about right and wrong but do you want your wife back?
MIB tells Ricardo where to find Jacob and off he goes on his mission. Jacob takes the knife upon Ricardo attacking him. Richard wants to know where his wife is, Jacob doesn’t know who is talking about. Ricardo tells Jacob she is dead like me. This seems to really upset Jacob because Richard thinks he is dead. He takes Richard into the water and is drowning him. “Do you still think you’re dead”, Jacob screams.
Jacob tells Richard his name and that he brought their ship to the island. Jacob has a corked bottle of wine, comparing the corked wine to the evil on the island that must never be released. Good analogy. He then goes on explaining to Richard that the Man in Black sent him on the murder mission because he believes every man is corruptible because it is in their very nature to sin.

Recall the MIB's speech "They Come, They Fight, They Corrupt, They Destroy" Recall Jacob's "You're wrong, it only ends once. Everything before that is progress." Jacob says that he brings all of these people to the Island to prove him wrong.
Jacob tells Richard that there were many people brought to the Island before him and that they're all dead. Richard asks why Jacob didn't help any of them. Jacob says he wanted them to help themselves and to know the difference between right and wrong without him having to tell them. It would be meaningless if he had to force them to do anything. (Sounds like God’s free will for people, let them choose good or evil, right or wrong.)

This is where Richard gets his Advisor position. He could be Jacob's representative to people he brings to the Island. Richard wants something in return. First he asks for his wife back. Jacob states that he cannot do this. Second he asks to be absolved of his sins so he doesn't go to hell. Jacob states that he cannot do this either. Third, Ricardo then says he never wants to die, he wants to live forever. Jacob touches Richard's shoulder and says "Now, that I can do!" And hence, his never ending life that he just wants to end now.

Man in Black is not even upset when he finds out Richard didn’t kill Jacob. He knows that Jacob can be very convincing. Richard then says that Jacob asked him to give MIB a white stone. MIB tells Richard that if he ever changes his mind and he means "EVER" his offer still stands. And then he gives Richard his wife's gold cross.

Richard buries the cross by a bench and says goodbye to his wife. In 2007 we find Richard arriving to the same location and watch him dig it back up. He then screams over and over for the Man in Black saying that he has changed his mind about his offer.

Only Hurley shows up, he has been talking with Isabella and she wants to know why Richard buried the cross. Richard is confused and doesn’t know how Hurley knows that, Hurley says she is right here. She tells him to close his eyes and Hurley will tell him what she says "It wasn't your fault that I died. It was my time. You have suffered enough, Ricardo." Richard misses her and would do anything to be with her again. Isabella says they already are together and then she kisses him and disappears.

Back in 1867 Man in Black is sitting and overlooking the Island holding the white stone. Jacob comes to him all happy acknowledging he got the present. MIB says he doesn't have to gloat.

Jacob said as long as he is alive MIB is not going anywhere. And he said even if MIB kills him somebody else will take his place. And then MIB says the one thing that defines what side he is truly on (his own). "Then I will kill them too!"
Jacob then gives MIB the bottle of wine and tells him it is to pass the time. "I'll see you around" MIB: "Sooner than you think" he then breaks the bottle symbolizing his escape from the Island. This season I believe is reveal the “good” and the “evil” people or person. This whole thing is like a Bible School story with Jacob gathering his flock and giving them free will to chose. (He did help all them get back to the island and gave Hurley the guitar case.)

A great episode from start to finish! Only seven more shows till the end. There are still many many unanswered questions. The main one being will Locke, Smokey, make it off the island? What happens when there is no one to take Jacob’s place? Ilana was suppose to ask Richard, according to Jacob, but Richard only wants to die; hardly a leader. Will the present day island or the side flashes be reality?

Oh yeah, Jacob tells Ilana that there are 6 people he needs her to protect and this is what she has been preparing for. So, a couple things stand out here to me. Jacob gave Ilana the number 6. Ilana tells Sun there are 6 remaining candidates. Ilana also knows that John Locke is dead and that there are still 6 candidates. So we still have the question, who are the six.

The other thing was the whole concept that Ilana has been preparing for this day. It would seem like Jacob has had a team of people preparing off Island for the day that the candidates would be called to take over for Jacob. So how did he manage to get killed before Ilana got there to protect him and gather the candidates? Probably another wicked twist in this fantastic story!

Wassup!

Time for Parenthood!

I’m hoping I learn more of their names this episode, although I don’t have much hope. It doesn’t help that I’m awful with them, or that I don’t care all that much. And I’m still trying to figure out how to write these posts. It’s so hard to write when it keeps jumping between stories. Any tips? :)

I think next time I’m going to totally separate by character.

I feel bad for Sarah’s daughter, Amber. She hasn’t really done anything wrong. I hate that she’s like “discriminated” against because she looks like a bad girl and it’s kind of cliché that the “good” girl Haddie is actually going to turn out to be the bad one.

I’m glad she’s not a total bad person, and she’s finding a place with “Stevie’s family”. I kind of like where they’re going with her. It seems like a lot of this stuff is very predictable.

It’s good that Haddie’s mom talked to her. Openness is important, I think. It’s what led Haddie to bring Stevie with her in the end to the dinner.

Ah, Sarah needs to learn that sometimes kids just need to open up to their parents. (I’m sorry, I just had a class today where we mostly discussed what made a good or bad parent.) Haddie’s father said that rebelling is also part of growing up, which we also mentioned was debatable.


I’m glad Sarah is fighting for Amber when Julie cancelled on her babysitting gig. While I’m sure her daughter didn’t really care about not having to work, I’ll be happy when this family realizes she’s not a bad girl. Doesn’t surprise me that Sarah would check up on her, not doubting she would. I didn’t really see it as Sarah trying to prove herself by getting Amber the job, but I get it now. I wouldn’t be happy.

But paper turtles are sooo cute!

Poor Drew. It must suck not to have a father to talk to. Although I liked the line (well the Woody Allen quote) “Masturbation is having sex with someone you love.” I love Woody Allen. And pop culture references. “Of all the gin joints in all the world.” I’m kind of digging this. Really grandpa? Your going to talk to have the talk while the kid’s in the shower? It’s funny though.

Who makes their password “Haddieho”? Haha I like that Crosby? (Daz) called Haddie’s relationship “facebook official”. How did Haddie not realize that her parents would figure out about her relationship? Sorry honey, but Facebook’s not your personal property. It’s the Internet.

I’m just wondering how can Jabbar eat pizza when we just learned he’s lactose intolerant? And poor him, with his thumb stuck in a can. I do love watching Crosby learn to parent, it’s so cute.

Finally, a soft side to Julie. Glad she’s not all evil. It’s really sweet that Crosby called her a good mom.

I still like the cheesy let’s get the whole family together thing and be happy. But it’s still cute. And happy. And perfect.


Please take the time to do the survey in my last post. I want to get to know my readers!

The 50th Post Party

Woohoo! I've reached 50 blog posts here at a TV and a Girl. Thanks so much to everyone who reads and comments. It really means a lot to me.

I'd like to get to know you guys better, so if you wouldn't mind filling this out and leave a link to your blog so I can check it out if I don't already! Knowing my blog readers is really important to me, so even if you read this by feed, please stop by the blog to fill this out.

1. Name:
2. Favorite Television shows:
3. Your other hobbies:
4. Profession:
5. Favorite Movies:
6. If you were stuck on an island and could only watch one TV show, what would it be?
7.What else would you like to see on this blog?
8. What's your blog or website?

Also, please check out my guest post over at Sugar Social!

HIMYM: Say Cheese!

Time for HIMYM--my favorite night of the week (although far from day—I hate Mondays and waking up early). I’m enjoying a little bit of popcorn as I prepare to write this article since the student center’s bagel sucked tonight (and they were out of pizza bagels). I’m also trying to multitask and study for a mosaic (religion/culture/literature class) midterm, but it’s probably going to have to wait until HIMYM is over.

I love a Lily-centric story and Marshall and his birthday plan. And pumpkin cheesecake. It’s making me hungry. I don’t get why they hate her group pictures (maybe that’s because I like them). It’s good to have memories. Ugh what is Ted thinking bringing Amanda? Even if she is a chef. Bleh. Ted should know from previous experience not to bring random girls to their intimate “family” parties. Liliah pursuit. Gilding with Lily. Marshall is so cute. I love these game ideas he came up with.

Really Ted? Your so dense to think that Lily would want some girl you just met in the photo? I love when Marshall sings “Happy happy Lily Day!”

I like that we’re traveling back in time via photo this time. How can Ted not realize that he always thinks these random girls are the one?

It doesn’t surprise me that Barney always takes good pictures and Marshal takes bad pictures. They went to far with him magically making that pose while eating a chip. It’s physically impossible. I would have preferred him just perfectly smiling all of the time rather than this stupid pose that it would impossible for him to be in while Robin was taking these pictures.

How dare you Ted! Lily is not a birthday brat! Poor Lily and Marshall. Karen is brat. I always hated her character, but that’s the point. I like that the Japanese guy did the same thing Ted is doing with Robin. And that Robin is the “skanky exception”.

Go Marshall go! Keep bringing back the birthday song. And I like Barney’s version of the song as well.

Sometimes I wish Ted wasn’t so stupid. I’m really starting to dislike his character. He went out with a girl named Strawberry, really? And who thinks Lily is 42? Amanda deserves a death stare from Marshall.

Poor Marshall always have to clean up for Ted. He shouldn’t have to. And Ted should realize what he does when he brings them to these events that are “intimate” between only their friends. Ted, I wish you weren’t making me hate you, but you are.

Photos aren’t phony Ted. They’re memories. Even if they are posed. They allow you to look back into the past. Aww, Ted, there you go redeeming yourself, allowing Lily to be into your roommate photo when Lily and Marshall had only been dating a couple of weeks. I do find it a little weird that it was like a “roommate” photo and they had let her in. I probably wouldn’t have given that it was probably just supposed to be a “roommate” photo. Then again, I probably would’ve just taken both. But that was the non-digital age.

The ending was funny. I’m glad Robin finally got a bad picture of Barney by making him sneeze.

I really liked this episode, although I lost a lot of respect for Ted in it.

As cheesy as it sounds, this episode reminded me that I should take more group photos of my friends and I.

What did you think of the episode?

Check in tomorrow for my 50th post! I'm excited!

Everyone Loves An Irish Girl

Leavemethwhite.com

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

When I woke up this morning, I was disappointed to realize that I hadn't packed my "Everybody Loves An Irish Girl" T-shirt, which I bought at Target when I realized it was practically the same one Lauren Graham wore in Episode 1 Season 4 ("Ballroom and Biscotti"). Rory and Lorelai had just come back their backpacking trip across Europe, and their last stop had been stalking Bono (from U2) in Ireland. It's one of my favorite episodes.

My outfit just ended up being a plain old green blouse and some green knee high socks. What are you wear/doing to celebrate St. Patrick's day? I'm going to send you a virtual pinch if you're not wearing green!

Parenthood: The Deep End of The Pool 1.03

Short review tonight. I feel like I’ve posted a lot lately and I want to relax, so sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes I missed.

I didn’t realize the show was set in SanFran. I find that kind of cool.

I feel bad for Jabbar. It would be extremely tough to bond with a kid you don’t know anything about. I like that they had a discussion about what makes parenting worth it. The connection. The bond. It’s kinda cheesy, but good. I’m happy that Dax’s character finds that he can bond with Jabbar about music at work. But just stop lying to your fiance already! It's so cliche and she's going to find out.

I liked the little bonding moment they shared over why Jabbar ran away near the end. It was cute.

Wait? Why are Sarah and her kid sleeping the same bed? So her son can have is own room? Really? Way to shove your own kid out of her bed, Sarah. I do feel bad that she’s kind of hopeless though with no money, no home, no car. Isn’t there a couch she could sleep on?

I want so badly for Max’s parents to find Max a school that fits him. It sucks they won’t let him into school until September. And the admissions lady kind did look like Oprah. That was funny. Not sure telling her that was a compliment or not though. But I'm glad he got into the school. Hopefully this will make their family life a little easier.

I feel so bad that they forgot Haddie's game though. It doesn't surprise me that they forgot about her once Max started consuming all their time. I can't believe her parents didn't realize it's been all about Max for years.

I kind of hated the mother who decided to show how because she was an all state swimmer or whatever. But I understand she feels the need to teach her kid to swim. But, she kind of failed, and now her kid is going to hate her for letting her “drowned.” I'm glad her kid is learning how to swim on her own though.

Not surprised they’re dad didn’t want to talk about the condoms. I am surprised that he didn’t deny they were there or that they were his. It was interesting to see her father admit to him and her mother not doing so well. I felt like the honesty was necessary given the rest of the lying go on.

Did it seem like there were a lot more commercials in the second half? Because it did it did to me, and it was kind of annoying.

Wait--why is Sarah getting back with Jim? I don't understand. I hope they explain this in the next episode.

I liked this episode. I just wish they could show more big family moments through out the show rather than the ending, although it does really work to bring all the stories together.

Veronica Mars Soundrack

This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite soundtracks (and I own a lot of them). It's what is getting me through my busy afternoon right now. Although I don't remember when many of them played in the show, I can remember a few, especially "Lily Dreams On," played in the Season One finale. It fit perfectly. Here's the track listing of the CD, which I highly recommend you check out: Track Listing. My favorites are definitely Long Time Coming, On You Porch, Ocean City Girl, I Know, I Know I  Know, and my all-time favorite: On Your Porch. But, I do really love them all. Veronica Mars, I miss you.


What's your favorite TV show soundtrack?

The Rough Patch

As it’s my favorite night of the week, it’s time for some HIMYM. Well, a repeat at least. I’m eating some yummy cheesecake brownie ice cream since I skipped lunch to do some interviews today, so even a repeat sounds good to give me a break from studying. I could use some, as it seems that I’ve been going through a little bit of a rough patch in my life in general, just like Barney and Robin in this episode.

Hmm. I’m surprised that Barney gave up his porn at the beginning of the episode, even if he is in a committed relationship. But I wasn’t surprised that Ted wanted to keep it. I liked how they brought up the idea of “relationship gut,” and commented that Lily had it, NOT Marshall. I really liked that Lily stole won, and that the video magically flew into the VCR.

I liked that Barney recorded over the porn to leave a message to Ted, that’s so something Barney would do. And he would totally record his own porn.

Aww it’s making me sad to watch Barney and Robin fall apart. I really don’t want this, although I liked the line “I’m my own wing tonight!” as he ate wings, and how it was exaggerated to make them seem like they were really falling apart.

“What’s the nice word for selfish?” “Independent.” This made me giggle. But ew, fat Barney looks so weird. I can’t picture Barney ever saying “I’m glad that’s almost over,” to sex. I just can’t. It isn’t possible. And no, Marshall, please don’t break them up! I know it’s going to happen but I just don’t want it.

I do like, however that they tried to use an engagement right to break them up, and that it failed. I loved that Lily hated that they were getting married but was excited to be a Maid of Honor. And I really don’t feel like Lily should attempt one last break up.

I liked that Barney and Robin had 4 distinct relationship fights. And that Lily had named them. And then combined them into one gigantic event. My favorite was the robot. I liked that they convinced Meg to show by making her think Barney was going to propose to her. I LOVED that it had no effect on them, because they’re in love. And that it was really just a rough patch. And the robot asked if they wanted to go get high with them. But wait a second—that’s not what really happened.

Aw, HIMYM, why’d you have to bring me down. They do break up, because they’re each too awesome. I liked that here they decided they were “two friends getting back together.” Too bad it seems, like in the latest episode, Robin seemed to be taking it too hard. I’m hoping they turn back to their old selves, if I can’t have them together. Sigh.

A not so Lazy Sunday

I've had a chance to check out a lot of new TV this week since I was home on spring break. I watched a couple episodes of the first season of Lost (which I had seen before--I just quit watching after season 2), all of My Life as Liz, an episode of Grey's Anatomy (an old one--I plan on checking out the new season soon though) and about half an episode of Skins in addition to my normal prime time TV schedule.

I also watched quite a few movies: Up In The Air (amazing by the way), I'm Reed Fish, Hamlet, and Blow. Up in the Air was by far my favorite, and I'm currently reading the book now.

I'm heading back to school today and I have to make a ton of flashcards for one of my tests this week and finish either watching or go over the Sparknotes again for Hamlet, but here's my weekly TV schedule:

Sunday:
Kendra on E! at 10 p.m. EST

Monday:
HIMYM CBS at 8 p.m. EST

Tuesday:
Parenthood NBC at 10 p.m. EST

Wednesday:
Free day! probably checking out some TV online or catching up on work.

Thursday:
The Office NBC at 9 p.m. EST or
Grey's Anatomy ABC at 9 p.m EST

How was everyone's week?

Lost: Dr. Linus review

Here's another Lost Review from Paula! Make sure you check out her awesome blog @ http://dreamr-dogblog.blogspot.com/!

Michael Emerson plays Benjamin Linus, an Emmy winning actor. He was awarded the 2001 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Dramatic Series. In 2007, he was nominated for an Emmy for his role on Lost. This episode is named after him and he actually has a heart, and is redeeming himself.

Now Ben is a Doctor teaching high school history. In LA at the high school Locke tells Ben he is listening to him and if he doesn’t like the principal do something about it. Ben teaches history, very caring about students and especially his student, Alex.

Back on the island in 2004 when the plane first crashed, Alex was Ben’s daughter. The mercenaries that came to the island to kill Ben killed Alex. Ben had chosen the island over his own daughter, which always caused a great deal of guilt for him. Now Ben is playing a lead role again in Alex’s life.

In LA, Ben is at home taking care of his dad. A direct contrast to the hate he had for his father on the island in 2004. He gassed his dad and all the Dharma Initiative. His dad says maybe they should have STAYED ON THE ISLAND AND NOT LEFT. This is the first person in sideway flashes that has any knowledge of the island. News breaking!

Jack and Hurley are coming back from the Lighthouse. The (dead) Jacob told Hurley to take Jack there. They meet up with Richard Alpert. Richard is a strange character. He is the only one we know least about that has been a major player through all seasons. We learn a little more about him, but where did he come from? Why would you follow someone for decades and not know why?

Ilana has Miles “read” Jacob’s ashes and he tells Ilana Linus killed Jacob. Ilana wants to kill Ben now and chains Ben and makes him dig his own grave. Ben is always getting himself in a pickle even when he tries to do right.

Back in LA Ben is tutoring Alex and she reveals to him that she caught the principal banging the school nurse. Ben gathers the principal’s private emails and confronts him.

Miles brings Ben some food while he is digging, Ben tries to bribe Miles once again, but doesn’t work. Miles read Jacob’s last thoughts and said Jacob was hoping he was wrong about Ben, but he wasn’t. Miles has no sympathy at all for Ben. I’ve grown too really like Miles with his laid back attitude.
Richard Alpert says he is taking Jack and Hurley to the Temple but he lied to them. Richard tells them everyone is dead at the temple. Richard doesn’t see any reason for living now that Jacob is dead, his mentor. Jack tells Richard they are not meant to die now. Richard cannot kill himself because he was touched by Jacob. I wonder just how old Richard really is.

Hurley leaves jack and Richard and a lit stick of dynamite. Jack tells Richard what he saw at the lighthouse and the mirror of his house as a kid. They are talking, sweat running down their face, watching the fuse get shorter and shorter. And the fuse mysteriously stops right before the BANG. Richard is in awe now of Jack. He says now we go back to where we started. (Back to the beach.)

Ben is becoming a man in charge as the history teacher in LA .He was in charge on the island before; Ben went through great lengths to become the man in charge. He was brought to the Others as a child and has planned every since and devoted everything to the island.

Locke, Monster, shows up while Ben is digging his grave, unknown to Ilana. This reminds me of the devil coming to give you eternal life. Locke offers Ben charge of island if he follows him, and bam the lock on his ankle just falls off. Ben takes off running, Ilana right behind him.

Ben gets the drop on Ilana and gives a very heartfelt speech about his daughter getting shot and sacrificing everything for Jacob. Ben says Jacob didn’t even care. (Very touching, an Oscar performance.) Ben cannot forgive himself and doesn’t ask for forgiveness, he just wants to leave. He tells Ilana he is going to Locke,” he is the only one that will have me”, he says crying. Ilana tells Ben, “I’ll have you.” We see a whole other side of Ben now on and off the island.

Ben confronts the principal with the emails, but it backfires. Ben says I want your job, (Ben doing whatever it takes to get what he wants, at least it’s not killing anyone.)The principal turns around and blackmails Ben with his student Alex; he will torch her future. Ben backs down for the sake of Alex, Which he didn’t back down on the island and got her killed.

THE REUNION- Miles, Sun, Ilana, Ben, and Frank Lapidus, the pilot are all back on the beach now. Who should show up but Hurley, Jack, and Richard. What a touching sight. Sun is so glad to see them, but still no Jin. Will she ever find him?

To put an end to this touching reunion, Whitmore is back in the picture. He is on a submarine with a military crew, when he is told there are people on the island. Whitmore says go on by. I can’t wait to see what that was all about. At least he is not out to kill them now. Any thoughts on Whitmore’s role with the island present day?

The Mixed Tape

http://www.lizbaillie.com

    So lately, I've been spending my time catching up on episodes of My Life as Liz on MTV's website. Now I know, its incredibly dorky, but I can't help it. Yes, it's incredibly obvious that it is staged (but I kind of got the impression that MTV was never trying to sell it as anything but staged and written (Liz says something along the lines in the commercials about this was the way she viewed her high school experience.) When we all look back on things, the memory tends to fudge with the ways things actually happened anyway. What I love most about Liz is how easy it is for me to relate to her. She's dorky and sweet, and is going through many of the experiences that I went through in high school.

   So onto the purpose of this post. In episode 5 of the series Bryson (Liz's crush) gives her a mixtape for her birthday, and later, she  gives Bryson a mixed tape when she asks him to prom (which fails, sadly). I've always loved the idea of making a mixed tape for someone. It just seems like the perfect way to say I love you, here's some songs that make me think of you and that I think you'll enjoy. It has to be perfect though, and carefully thought out. Check out this for some tips, since I'm no expert. I've only made one, which was for a friend moving away in eighth grade. It was really cheesy, and featured music mostly from the One Tree Hill Soundtrack. I just love this song:


It's probably what encouraged me to make a mixtape for anyone in the first place. Now that Liz has inspired me, I may just have to go and make another.
     Have you ever made a mixtape for anyone? Who was it for?

Review of Parenthood: Man vs Possum

Can I say yesssss! Finally a show with an introduction again! I actually enjoyed seeing pictures of everyone when they were younger.

Sarah (Lauren Graham) was so on key in the beginning when she sent her kids to a new school. I felt embarrassed. Her interview was kind of awkward as well, but in a good way. And what kind of search engine is "Find Now Go?" They wouldn't have given her a schedule and then randomly pulled her out to tell her that. I felt bad for her :( Not surprised she didn't get the job.

Poor parent's who are just learning that Max has aspberger's. That must be really tough, especially when it seemed really scary when they visited with that family and all they did was talk about the billions of specialists they had to see. But, I love how this kid knows Bob Dylan never had a number one song.

Ugh. I can't imagine being in Dax's characters position. He has no idea what he's doing. But he sucks for lying to that girl. He should tell her he has a kid.

I don't understand what the deal was with the possum. It's not like it was interrupting their sleep or destroying their home. He said the possum was mocking him? Guess it was just an excuse so he could find the pot. I want to learn more about their father especially if he's being smoking pot lately. I liked that the daughter confessed to the pot, although it's kind of cliche that so-called "good kid" ended up with the pot.

And can they even just randomly tell a kid that they're being held back like that? I feel bad that Sarah and everyone always accuses her of being the bad kid.

I liked the end. I always enjoy when all the parents get together. And it's just funny that they started smoking pot.

Sorry if this is kinda jumbled because I wrote it as I watched it. Did anybody else watching it and what did you think? Or what did you spend you Tuesday nights doing otherwise?

Guest post: Review of ABC’s Cougar Town

By: Liberty Kontranowski
Don’t let the name Cougar Town scare you away. This fabulously witty ABC show is not just about old grandmas chasing down teenage love interests and shouting about it from the rooftops. It’s about so much more. Friendship, wacky relationships and finding oneself in the midst of a jumbled world are all central plot themes. We can all relate to those, right?

In the show, Jules Cobb is the main character (played brilliantly by Courteney Cox of Friends and Dirt fame.) Jules is freshly divorced, though her down-on-his-luck ex-hubby, Bobby, is a constant fixture at her house. She has a teenage son, Travis, with whom she has a very open and gray-area relationship with, and a couple of best friends whose sole source of fun is to duke it out with each other over Jules’ affections.


Add in her hottie singleton neighbor, Grayson, with whom constant barbs and personal jabs are the norm and you’ve got one lively neighborhood. And despite all of their dysfunctionality, the crew meets up at Jules’ house with such regularity, you’d think her kitchen was the local java joint where they all surf the web and read the Viamedic blog together every day.

Now, while Jules dabbles in sexcapades and frivolous relationships with fresh, young Floridian meat, she also has her eye on Grayson, who kind of digs her back. Except neither of them will admit it. She embraces her singleness one minute and laments it the next. It’s that push and pull feeling most of us encounter at some point in our lives, only for most of us, our lives aren’t nearly as funny, glamorous or well-cast.

The laughs come often and plenty in this show. The writers did a great job giving each of the characters distinct personalities (and quirks!) and the actors are so convincing, you’d swear you know these people on a personal level.


Whether it’s Ellie and Laurie (Jules’ besties) bearing their claws to each other, Ellie and hubby Andy exchanging snippets about their somewhat mechanical sex life or Travis’ embarrassment over the fact that his dad cuts the lawn at his school for a living and his mom brings home random guys only a few years older than he, each episode is bursting with plot advancement and side-splitting one-liners. It’s a great show to unload the day’s stressors with.


With characters that are so varied in age and many different relationship combos to explore, there seems to be a plethora of avenues this show can travel down. I, for one, am super excited to see what the writers do next. If you haven’t given Cougar Town a chance yet, you really must. It won’t be a waste of your time, I promise (so long as you have a sense of humor, that is.) Warning, though: there is some strong sexual language and connotation to this show, and you’re sure to hear and expletive or two in nearly every episode, so this is not something you want to watch with the whole fam. Make it your time to get away and have a good laugh solo or with some pals. And laugh you will.

For more info on the show, including a cast list and full-length episodes, visit Cougar Town’s official website. Drop us a comment here to let us know what you think of the show and any predictions you may have for future episodes and seasons. Enjoy!


Liberty Kontranowski is a freelance writer and blogger with hundreds of health, sex and lifestyle articles published online and print. She contributes health articles to Viamedic, a safe and secure online drugstore. 

Image courtesy of http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/.

Lazy Sunday

How has everybody's weekend been?

Mine's been alright. I haven't done much TV watching (half an episode of Secret life, some of my Life As Liz--I know. I'm pathetic). I've been watching movies instead, including Star Trek and The Hurt Locker.

Coming up this week I've got a myriad of guest posts I have to write, and a couple of upcoming blog posts on this blog.

Shows I plan on watching this week:

HIMYM
My Life As Liz
Parenthood
The Office

And I'm sure I'll hit something up on the web since I'm off all week for spring break. What show are you looking forward to this week? (Comment here and check out my poll!)

Edit: Can't believe I didn't mention it, but who's watching the Oscars tonight?

Some Glee News

I feel like any news I can give you guys regarding Glee (which doesn't come back to April--boo!) you've already heard. But, since I'm super excited for some guest stars, I figured I'd post something here about it. Since it has some spoilers (I know some people hate to be spoiled) I'm putting up a cut so you don't immediately see the info.

Just a few things....

I'm featured on Blabbergirl's blog! Go check it out at Blabbergirl Blog.

In other news, not quite so sure if I'm keeping this blog design or redoing it. This is pretty much the first layout I had. I feel it's kind of better then what I had before, but I'll probably still do some messing around with it until I'm completely happy.

What did you guys think of the Office? I was kind of distracted and talking through a lot of it, so I'll be giving it another view once its online.

Lost: Sundown Episode

Paula, once again, with her recap from the most recent episode of Lost:
     More flash sideways in this episode, I love these the most. In this episode Sayid walks into a house with Nadia and two children, thinking this is his family. (Nadia is the love of his life that was killed after they were rescued.) But she is married to Sayid’s brother. Sayid has just come back from Australia.
     Omar, Sayid’s brother, gets beaten up by some shady characters he had borrowed money from. Nadia pleads with Sayid not to do anything. (Sayid used to torture people in Iraq.) They force Sayid into a restaurant, not a good idea, and he ends up killing them all. Sayid can be one heck of a killing machine although he is trying to put that all behind him. Sayid then opens a freezer to find none other than Jin all tied up. Here they do not know each other and Jin can’t speak English. (He had learned on the island.) So now how is Jin tied into all this? He did work for Sun’s father before, a cold calculating Mafia figure.
    Meanwhile, back on the island, Claire is totally someone else, looking for Aaron her son. She is not that sweet girl anymore. Jin told her last week Kate took him off the island three years ago. John Locke, AKA smoke monster, tells Claire to go to the Temple and give them a message and she ends up in pit. In return Locke will help her get Aaron back.
    Kate goes back to the temple and tells Claire she took Aaron three years ago also. She looks very shocked like everyone is betraying her. Kate’s goal in going back to the island is to find Claire, bring her back to be with her son, who Kate left with Claire’s mom. And don’t forget Jack and Claire are brother and sister. (I think Sawyer had a little to do with Kate going back, too.) Where did Claire go when she wondered into the jungle? The smoke monster looks like her new best friend.
Dogen, the Temple leader, sends Sayid out to kill Locke after they have a cool fight. Sayid finds Locke, stabs him in the chest with a huge dagger. Locke pulls out the dagger and says “What did you do that for?” Priceless. Did you see the look on Sayid’s face? That is twice now Dogen has tried to kill Sayid. Locke sends Sayid back to the Temple with a message for the Others to follow him or die. Locke keeps his word and wipes out everyone who is not with him.
    Sayid, Claire, and Kate join Locke and the Others who left the Temple; Locke has now assembled his team. What is his real goal? Everyone keeps saying Locke will kill you. But he didn’t kill Sayid or Sawyer. Now Sawyer wasn’t in this episode. Jacob had gathered all these people together from Oceanic Flight 815 as candidates to take over as protector of the island for him one day. Locke has killed Jacob so he definitely has a plan of some kind.
    And I can’t wait for Sun to catch up with Jin on the island. They fell back in love on the island before and she had a child. I want them all to be one big happy family. And I want to see Sawyer next week; he is my favorite, the underdog. I think he would be perfect with Kate, although they are both very strong willed.

American Idol (The Boyz)

Another post from Paula guys! Enjoy:

March 2
     So it was the boys turn tonight. The girls are much better this year. Overall I thought the performances were pretty sad, there were a couple that shined, but most not hitting the mark. Casey is my favorite and with that eclectic guitar he was awesome.
    John Parks gave a depressing performance. I don’t know what’s up with his song choices? If he if there next week I hope he sings something upbeat. Alex Lambert, not Adam’s brother, says he is so nervous he throws up before each performance. (I don’t think I would share that.) The judges and I thought he did improve greatly from last week though.
   Patrick Hall, the dancer, did a Tina Turner song, so they won’t compare him to the original artist, he says. Well, not a chance of that. He has a knack for rearranging a song so much it is unrecognizable. (Like butchering it.) He can sing really well but just sing the song. Michael Lynche is a good singer, but I think he is getting a little too cocky and sure of his self. He is not that good.
    Aaron Kelly is only sixteen and that boy can sing. He has a lot of nerves also, but I give credit for anyone with the courage to go through that whole process of Hollywood week and the critiquing every week. Tim Urban was just plain boring. Dweezle, that’s what I call him, is another favorite. He has that raspy rock voice. I love to hear him sing. And even Simon liked him.
    So, how do you think Ellen is doing as a judge? At first I was wondering why she was chosen as a judge with no musical background other than listening to it. She does dance a little on her talk show. But she does bring an interesting change of pace with her comments and comedy, filling the nice shoes of Paula Abdul.

Please Excuse my "Dust" as I plan for a new revamped "A TV and A Girl"!

Over the next couple of days I plan on doing a total reconstruction of this blog: A new header, a new layout, plus, I'm going to be editing some of my recent posts for grammar and style (sorry if this affects any of the updates anyone gets, I really hope it doesn't). I'll still be updating as regular in the mean time though.

I'm also interested in learning more about you guys, so I'm thinking about interviewing a new reader about once a week about their TV watching habits and what they love about TV. Would you guys be interested in that.

Also, please let me know what some of your favorite posts have been so I know what type of content I should be primarily writing for this blog. You guys are really awesome.


Check back soon for a totally revamped "A TV and A Girl"!

Review of Parenthood: Pilot

     I enjoyed Parenthood quite a bit last night. It kind of surprised me, given that I thought it could either be really bad or really good based on the commercials.  For the most part, I think it has a lot of potential. I'm most interested in Dax Shepard's character and how he's going to deal with the fact that he has a kid when he really didn't want one in the first place.
      I also really hope that Lauren Graham's character doesn't turn out to be a "bad mom." I think right now she has potential to either be that or just a mom that is really struggling to get back on her feet. I don't think I'll like it as much if she just becomes the awful mother who doesn't know what she's doing. Also, why does Graham always get stuck playing the single mother? It is kind of refreshing though that she has a so-called bad kid (as opposed to Rory from Gilmore girls). I think her daughter is going to end up being more of a good girl in the long run though, based on the preview for next week where the other girl (the girl who appears to be the so-called "good girl") says she's not completely as she seems.  I'm also curious to find out how the mother of the daughter who blatantly prefers her father plays out in the future. I'm kind of hoping that both her and Dax play more of a role.
     Also, did anybody else notice the similarities between this and Brothers and Sisters? Maybe it was just because of the big family dinners at a long table that reminded me of it the most, but the fact that all of these parents are related reminded me of the whole big family concept even more. Although Brothers and Sisters didn't focus on their children as much and instead of focused more on the adults, I definitely notice similarities, especially since all the stories from the immediate families interconnect (something that surprised me--I was expecting it more to be like vignettes of the different families and maybe they'd interact briefly because they were neighbors or friends).
     I'm definitely going to keep up with this show (and I promise to try and learn their names--although it'll be tough because there's so many of them). What did you guys think of this episode? I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Our First Guest Post: Lost!

Here's this blogs first guest post by Paula! You can read her information in the Guest blogger portion of this site and be sure to check out her blog, http://dreamr-dogblog.blogspot.com/. Enjoy her plost about Lost:


Lost: The Last Season
     Oceanic Flight 815 crashed six seasons ago and it’s been a roller coaster ride every since. The main characters John Locke, Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, Jin, and Sun are always doing something unexpected. Claire has come back in the picture on the island and in the flash sideways is giving birth in Los Angeles and not on the island. Remember, she disappeared on the island before the rescue and was left there.

What are the flash sideways differences?
     There are two stories going on simultaneously, not an alternate timeline but a different outcome in the same situation of Oceanic Flight 815. I can’t wait to see the rest of this season and get all the answers. I don’t see how they can be on the island and in Los Angeles at the same time, though. It is awesome, though. So here are the differences.
     The plane flies safely into LAX, Los Angeles airport in Season 6. Desmond is in Jack’s seat on the plane. Desmond was on the island for three years before the plane crashed. (Also Desmond was in the empty stadium running when Jack was there pondering).
     The island and statue are completely under water, only a four-toed foot remained when they crashed. Hurley says he is the luckiest guy in the world and won the lottery, before Hurley insisted he was cursed and the lottery numbers were everywhere on the island as a bad omen. Sun tells the customs agent she doesn’t speak English, before she secretly took lessons and learned English before boarding the plane.
    Ethan is Claire’s OB/GYN doctor when she is giving birth. Back on the island, he was the one who kidnapped Claire and held her prisoner. Helen and John Locke are living together and are going to be married, before Helen had left Locke because of his obsession with his evil father. You remember Helen from Married with Children, Peg?
    Now this is a twist, evil, no-conscience Ben Linus is a European history teacher at a high school. Jack has a son, David. Do you think he kind of looks like Kate? He didn’t have any kids before. Jack’s appendix was taken out when he was 7 or 8. On the island Juliet took his appendix out.
The commentary shows are really good. If you get lost, especially in this season, it really helps to clear things up. I like how they show last week’s show enhanced and then the new show. I can’t wait to see how the flash sideways is explained. I hope there is no “it was all a dream”.

March Madness--TV show Style

I'm not into to basketball at all, but thanks to Joe, this awesome March Tournament for TV, hosted by Hulu, was brought to my attention. And it looks totally awesome. Every week, head over Best In Show to to vote for the different categories as your favorite shows compete against each other in a tournament mocking a March Madness bracket. What show are your routing for the most.

"Parenthood" Tonight

Parenthood premieres tonight on NBC at 10 EST. I'm looking forward to this because of Lauren Graham, not so much because of the commercials made it look so good. It looks kinda eh to me.
I'll probably post what I think of the show either tomorrow or Thursday. I'm sick and have a midterm to study for, so most of my attention will be going towards that.
But for now, what do you think of the show?

HIMYM: Hooked

     This episode certainly didn't have me hooked. While I can't say that I hated it, it was definitely missing that "How I Met Your Mother" charm that I fell in love with in the first three seasons. I can see now why my roommate now sees it as just kind of "eh" (saying that it has some funny moments, but otherwise it's not really interesting): she's only seen these newer episodes and a couple of older ones (she watched them while I was watching the DVDs).
     I think the primary reason for the shows recent “eh” factor is how now, they're constantly having guest stars that don't really add much to the show. They're just their because they're famous. Carrie Underwood (Tiffany) did absolutely nothing for me in the episode. I kind of wish (and secretly think that the role would have been better) a no-name actress had played her character. And what was with her calling Ted “Big Brown Eyes?”
     Another “eh” factor is definitely the writers strange pushing of this relationship factor idea (and it’s absolute need for a name, even when its completely wonky like “hooker” and “Hookey”). First we had the “reacher” and the “settler,” which I kind of liked, but this one just didn’t work for me. I like the more creative lines like the "Slap Bet" episode that weren’t trying to prove a point about relationships.
     At the beginning of the episode, I was surprised Ted had admitted he was a going to be jerk in this storyline. I thought it was nice of him to come around to what he’s done wrong in his relationships—I think that should be what eventually lands him “the mother.” Unfortunately, I didn't get what I was expecting. My view about this statement changed as I continued watching the episode. Ted wasn’t really the jerk here, Tiffany was. She was the one who was stringing Ted along and in the end she was the “bad guy.” (Ted strung another girl along in a subplot, but that event took place in the past.) Ted’s done some questionable, even jerk-like things, but I don’t think this counts as one, which makes me a little bit confused about why they decided to open with this.
     I wasn’t much more pleased by Lily and Marshall’s version of the “Hookey” and the “Hooker” plot line. I liked that they brought the character Scooter back(he's the perfect representation of a creepy ex-boyfriend). But, given Scooter and Lily’s past at the wedding, I don’t think Lily would have actually been stringing him along just because he possesses puppy dog eyes. Other than that, I liked the rest of their storyline. I could totally see them practicing Lily breaking it off with a cute pig (I’ll get to the pig later) and then, as Lily actually succeeds in breaking it off with Scooter, having Marshall come in and mess it all up just because he himself can’t resist his puppy dog eyes either.
     Lately, I’ve also been disappointed with the lack of Barney (as well as Robin—where was she this whole episode?). It seems Barney has primarily been the punch line of jokes recently—at least that part of the show still succeeds in being funny.. For the most part, I loved the line about Barney trying to find the perfect bait: first testing a slot machine, then a trampoline, and then finally a teacup pig, which works. I’m still not entirely sold on the teacup pig. While it was cute, a puppy dog would have fit without being quite so weird. I also liked Barney’s storyline, albeit short, with Carrie Underwood about the profession hot women always flock to.
I’ll give it 2.5 stars out of 5. I hope some of the next couple of episodes are more enjoyable.

     Please take part in my poll! I'll be back tomorrow night with a review of the new TV show Parenthood, featuring Lauren Graham.

Dr. House, I underestimated you

imdb.com

Back in high school, I was a huge fan of House, MD. I own the first three seasons. However, I stopped watching for the primary reason I stop watching any show: they started killing (or just getting rid of) characters I love (see LOST--I stopped the instant they killed Charlie). I couldn't understand why Fox would want to introduce new characters (whom I did not love as much as I loved Cameron, Chase, and Foreman) to a perfectly good show. Neverless, as Thirteen, Taub, Amber and Kutner began to take over, I stopped caring and eventually stopped watching all together. And with rumors of Jen Morrison's (Cameron) departure, I didnt really care.

Now to the point. Last night, as my awful headache from my cold prevented me from sleeping, I started flipping through the channels and stopped on USA to watch some House. It was apparent that this was from a newer season (Cuddy had a baby and there was mentions of House being institutionalized--which I knew from the people around me who still watched House had happened rather recently. But there Chase, Foreman, and Cameron still were, as good as ever, with no Cutthroat Bitch (aka Amber) in sight. Was I wrong about this being a newer season?

No. A search on IMDB proved that I had in fact been watching Season 6 of House as I suspected. I may just have to give Dr. House a second chance.

Twitter HIMYM Party!

I'll be trying something new tonight. I'm going to tweet my opinions about tonight's How I Met Your Mother episode while the episode occurs(guest starring Carrie Underwood), then come back here at 8:30 p.m. to summarize and repost what I thought of it. My twitter account is at http://twitter.com/KristenGilmore. Feel free to come tweet with me about HIMYM at 8! Also, if you want to, email or comment with your twitter names if you'd like me to follow you!

UPDATE: Added a Twitter sidebar gadget if you'd like to just hang out here to see what I'm updating!